With the new term for me, Thursdays have turned from my day to relax to the day where I have 12 hours worth of school. OTL At least this week’s episode of Tempest wasn’t that strenuous to write about.

Yes, they gave us a flashback episode, so this is the shortest post I’ve written for this show yet. Or at least it was partially a flashback episode. I wasn’t that confused with the storyline to begin with, so it felt like a bit of a waste, but I guess it helped the show land on a huge cliff hanger. More on that later, though.

So assuming that Mahiro’s dream was correct, the Tree of Genesis actually did some good for the world in reversing pollution and stopping war in it’s tracks. …Of course, it did this by completely eliminating the entire army (and anyone trying to start wars) and the last episode it almost killed our protagonists, but meh, details. It looks like there’s a little more equality food and water-wise around the planet. At the same time though, the people who had a 1st world lifestyle don’t seem to be as happy about the situation since it’s a big inconvenience. There’s good and bad depending on the people involved. I don’t know if it’s been completely revived or not since we didn’t see any of present-day Hakaze, and Samon had other things on his mind, but if it remains in this state, I don’t think life would be too bad. The world seems to have their electricity and water back and sure, there’s a ton of property damage everywhere, but at the same time, it looks like pollution is solved. If only the tree hadn’t absorbed (or whatever it does)/killed 2 billion people, the situation seems livable. Of course, considering that this show likes plot twists, there could be some huge repercussions down the road, but for now, the Tree seems friendly enough. I’m just curious now as to how Hakaze got the situation under control.

It’s also a mystery as to why and how Mahiro knew in his sleep (coma, whatever you want to call it) all of the events going on in the world. As far as the plot has told us, he’s just your average angst ridden kid who wants to murder his sister’s killer and is otherwise not involved with magic at all. Did a near death experience give him a bit of power somehow? Is it just a collection of information he unconsciously picked up on while he was out for a month and his mind sorted it out and gave it to him in dream form? (…Is that even possible?) I suppose they could just attribute it to plot convenience though. There’s also the fact that Aika seemed to be self-aware inside of his mind. Maybe this is just her character being her usual mysterious self that hands out advice in flashbacks when the characters need it, but it hints again that Aika might be more than just a dead girl.

Holy crap, there IS a Mage of Exodus! Hanemurra seems like your average guy who seems a bit hard on his luck, but surprisingly, he’s competent with his magic (or at least he knows how to make red spinning discs) and we didn’t see a stereotypical blundering “HOLY CRAP I HAVE MAGIC” sequence with him where he thinks he’s the chosen one or something. Those things can get annoying. I wonder if it was just a realization that happened at some point (like one day, he suddenly knew that he had powers and what he could do with them), or if he discovered it one day on his own. I’m thinking it was the former since everything the Trees do seems to be deliberate, where bestowing power on an unknowing individual without an explanation seems like too big of a risk and not a precise enough action. You also have to question exactly when he got his powers. Hanemura was awfully calm about the situation. Though of course, it’s been a month since the events of the last episode happened, and Hanemura seems like he’s had his share of bad experiences in life, so chances are that he’s pretty adaptable to any situation. …Man, Kaji Yuki seems to be getting typecast into characters with low self esteem left, right and centre. Haru from Accel World, Ouma Shu, Alibaba from Magi… the list just keeps increasing.

I know this show likes it’s moral ambiguity, but I can’t help but wonder if Hanemura is going to turn into our new ‘good’ guy with Mahiro. You know, since Hakaze is nowhere to be seen yet, not everyone likes the Tree of Genesis being there (even I’m a bit weary of it being there), and now Samon, the guy who always does what he thinks is right, suddenly wants to kill Yoshino.

I was afraid that this was going to totally be a flashback episode, but luckily, they gave us a bit more than that at the end. I don’t know how I feel about the anime suddenly shoving us into the future considering how the last episode gave us what looked like the apocalypse and two dead (or on their way) protagonists. Maybe there’s some secret plot twist that happened in between that time regarding Hakaze and the Tree of Genesis, who knows. It just felt awfully abrupt. On the other hand, it was a pretty clean cut from part one of the story to this new arc here (helped but the airing date gap between the last episode and this one). All of the drama of Hakaze being on the island and Samon raising Exodus seems over and done with. Yeah, there are unanswered questions (aka Aika’s death) to keep the original two protagonists relevant, but other then that, the story isn’t really tied down by the first part, so the story can go off in a different direction now without feeling off. As for the ED (I assume it’s the new ED since it doesn’t seem eventful enough to be the OP to this show), it seems to be following the previous one’s calm feeling. Though this one seems a tiny bit more relevant emotion-wise. That last part with Yoshino walking alone is strangely heart breaking…

So why does Samon think killing Yoshino would be a good idea? Well, they pretty much gave it away in the preview audio. For one, Samon seems to think that Yoshino is the Mage of Exodus. Maybe this is true and maybe it isn’t. Since Exodus awakened the last episode, maybe Yoshino could be THE Mage and Hanemura (who said that he was probably the Mage; I don’t know if that was his character with low self esteem or what) is just A mage. Or maybe Hanemura is THE Mage and Yoshino is just A mage, throwing Samon off. …Or maybe Yoshino isn’t a mage at all and this is just the preview making us think. The other reason for wanting Yoshino dead is since Samon said that Hakaze apparently loves Yoshino. Considering how manipulative Yoshino is and how Hakaze can practically change the world on a whim, this isn’t exactly the best combination for society. Oh well, We’ll see next episode.

21 Responses to “Zetsuen no Tempest – 13”

I was a bit confused while watching this because I wasn’t sure if it was just a flashback episode or I was supposed to be getting new information. I’ll give them props for doing things like re-animating sequences to include the younger versions of the protagonists as spectators and such. Not sure where we are heading anymore, but it will be interesting to find out.

I don’t think the plot is done toying with us yet, so wherever this is heading, it’s not going the be a straightforward and easy to follow road. At least it’s not too predictable though. That does make things a bit more fun.

Recap episodes are usually a dreaded thing for me but Zetsuen gets an exception. It was challenging trying to seperate what was flashbacks from current events with everything being twisted up and seeing Mahiro and Yoshino’s younger selves popping up all over. And all this talk about dreaming in the dialogue. It’s like watching Inception, Zetsuen no Tempest style.

The way things are right now. It’s like the Tree of Genesis has issued its own world order and anyone who goes against it or its rules ends up dead. My guess is that this temporary “peace” is the calm before the storm.

I had a feeling the Mage of Exodus existed since Hakaze felt so strongly about this but Hanemurra wasn’t the kind of person that met expectations. He seems like someone who’s been forced into something he doesn’t want to be involved in. Much indicated by the expression of reluctance on his face.

Man, Kaji Yuki seems to be getting typecast into characters with low self esteem left, right and centre. Haru from Accel World, Ouma Shu, Alibaba from Magi… the list just keeps increasing.

Yeah, this is pretty much the only recap episode I’ve ever accepted and that’s only because it actually had new content for a good portion of it. …I wouldn’t put this on Inception’s level, but it was better then just going “This is what happened. This is what’s happening now.” It definitely puts the story into perspective better if it’s all a dream.

I was totally thinking Jormungand with the Tree this episode. You know, since no one can really oppose it and it’s a tiiiiiiiny bit tyrannical, but it’s bringing about world peace. If only this aired closer to the ending of Jormungand, I could have totally brought both anime into comparison…

Compared to the strong, independent and arrogant Hakaze, Hanemura is a great opposite. Even more because his magic is aggressive and Hakaze’s is made to protect.

…Long story short, Kaji Yuki voices a lot of pathetic and wimpy characters.

LOL I think raping him with her eyes is a pretty harsh way to put it, but I’m sure she was just a tiiiny bit grateful that the guy who put so much effort into helping her was a good looking bishounen. I know I would be. xD

Since the beginning, Yoshino has been a slippery character. His motives are still not apparent and he seems to customize himself in between situations leading other people on. He seems to be a good guy and at least his love for Aika seems genuine but I’m sure he’s just not aimlessly roaming about. I really want to know his deal.

Yoshino’s actions have been suspicious from the beginning he met up with Mahiro. He made deals with the army behind his back without remorse at the thought of abandoning him and he’s hiding the fact he’s Aika’s boyfriend. Other than survival, he hasn’t shown any reason why he’s hanging around, why he was so intent on helping Hakaze and his earlier encounters with Evangeline shows no hesitation with the idea of killing people if it becomes necessay. It’s the quiet ones you should keep your attention on.

I can’t really blame him for hiding the fact that he’s Aika’s boyfriend since Mahiro isn’t exactly what you’d call calm and mentally stable. I don’t think we ever got a clear explanation for his dealing with the army/Evangeline though.

I think his love for Aika is genuine as well, but after seeing how he plays around a bit with Mahiro’s trust… yeah, I wonder what he’s doing. Mahiro’s motives are extremely clear from the beginning, but Yoshino’s only explanation for going on this adventure was that he couldn’t leave Mahiro alone and he wanted to see where this was going. (Or maybe it was that he wanted the truth, I can’t really remember.) In short, I agree with you completely. What is up with Yoshino?

I have to say, I got a bit bored during the entire recap. I wasn’t sure it was necessary, as it seemed to only rehash what has happened and mix it in with a few new details. The manga was more straight forward about all of this.
The new ED is very nice (I’d say it’s the ED as it was too calm for an OP of Zetsuen) and Yoshino walking alone in the opposite direction after walking with Aika was pretty heartbreaking.
Of course, the plot only gets more confusing from here on out. I wish they hadn’t wasted the episode like this- I get the feeling if they had been straight forward people would look back at this episode and think “Geez why can’t it be like that?” Oh well.

I wonder if the new OP will have the same band because sometimes the singers change like both OP for Jormungand. [Spirit Inspiration] was sung by Nothing’s Carved In Stone but now, they’ve gone over to Psycho-Pass with its new OP [Out Of Control].

I like [Out Of Control] as well but still a lot more fond of [Abnormalize]. It fits Psycho-Pass so much more. The weird thing was the ED. While it was another good song from EGOIST, the visuals had all the characters naked. I really need an explanation to that.

Okay, so according to ANN, the new vocalist for the Tempest OP is some artist named Kylee who comes from… Arizona of all places. Apparently she sung the Heroman OP (and 2 other shows I’ve never heard of), but to be honest I’ve never heard of her.

I’m hoping this means another entirely English OP. Since she was raised in the States and all.

I finally watched this, and it was well done for a ‘recap’ episode, with quite a bit of expansion on what we already knew. And the kids gimmick was pretty well used to keep it from just being too dull.